Game of Hearts
by Bellatrix wannabe 89
Summary: Sequel to Camping Trip. Olivia decides to sign Noah up for a summer T-Ball league. Just her spending an enjoyable summer of watching her son play Americas favorite game. Yup, Olivia is sure nothing out of the ordinary could happen… Except for the fact that in a twist of fate her ex and his new girlfriend end up Noahs coaches. That could put a little damper on things. Tuckson.
1. Chapter 1

I own no one but my own people

 **A/N So this month has sucked. Hard. Like… wow hard. Everything sucks, nothing is going right, and I hate everything. Anyway, I needed something to distract me from all the sadness and depression and anger and hate and every other crappy feeling bubbling up inside me and fic writing is honestly the only thing I have left. It's a sequel to Camping Trip and you don't really need to read that to get this, but it may clear up some things. It's not my best writing because this story is mainly so I don't drive myself insane during this crap fest of a summer.**

Olivia sighed as she looked over the tiny baseball gloves in front of her, not having any idea where to even begin.

She had wanted Noah to stick with fencing and equestrianism. Her son enjoyed horse riding and she knew from experience that fencing was a terrific sport to add to a college resume but her little boy had been so excited when it was announced there were sign-ups for a local T-Ball league at his preschool.

Tucker had wanted him to sign up for baseball the year prior but Olivia said he was too young.

 _Every little boy should play baseball at least once in his life_ Tucker had once told her while they sat on her couch watching a game and he saw how enthralled Noah was. The former IAB Captain had played when he was a child and he had grown to love to sport so much he had gone onto to play Little League, lettered in high school, and even got a small scholarship to play it in College.

After the academy, he had played faithfully as third basemen for the NYPDs official baseball team since the year he joined the force and was always the hero of the game and was beloved by the rest of the team. Then he joined IAB and everything changed.

Tucker lasted one season with his former team mates. When he wasn't being intentionally slammed into at practice by the runners, he was ignored. He wasn't invited to drinks after practice, to the big BBQ before their first game… For thirteen years, he had been third basemen and then out of the blue he was demoted to a designated hitter whose turn never seemed to come up, and the team captain had 'forgot' to order him a new jersey so he was forced to wear the one from his last year with the team.

The final straw though was the night before their last game. Every year the NYPD played their big rival game with the FDNY. New York's bravest VS New York's finest, and every year it drew huge crowds, huge money, Yankee Stadium gave them permission to play there, a few minor celebrities made appearances… One year it was even hosted on ESPN. It was both the police and fire departments biggest charity night and drew tens of thousands of dollars for each of the teams.

His jersey had shown up at his apartment the night before the big game and where his last name should have been proudly stitched on was only one single word in big bold capital letters; 'RAT'.

Tucker called up the captain and quit the team the very same minute he opened the box.

He tried to join a league with no police affiliation but it just so happened that not one but two police officers had also been on his team and soon enough, he was treated just as wretchedly on that team as he was on the other. He didn't even make it three practices before he quit and since then he had yet to pick up a bat or a glove.

Tucker had all but given up any chance of being associated with the game he had at one time loved so dearly until he saw the flyer for a T-Ball league, and he had pleaded Olivia to let him sign up Noah. She said she would let him play the year after. She had also assumed she would still be with Tucker when she did and he could have handled all the baseball stuff.

Then they had gone on that fateful camping trip, the trip that still brought tears to her eyes if she thought about it too long. He had not only broken up with her after she discovered his plans to propose to her, but after Olivia left for her apartment that dreary morning, the man she had thrown everything away for, the man she had 'tied for first' along with Tucker, had yet to contact her.

Tucker had cleared all his stuff out of her apartment by the time she and Noah were back from the hospital the day after they left the site. She had debated calling him once or twice but every time her finger lingered over the 'call' button, her guilt and fear would get the better of her and she threw her phone down. Tucker hadn't tried to call her either and since SVU and Hostage Negotiation hadn't needed each other's services so they hadn't had a chance to see one another even in a professional setting.

Eleven months had passed since that fourth of July weekend. She was supposed to be already married, Tucker was supposed to have adopted Noah, everything about her life was supposed to be different. They were supposed to be together, she was supposed to be Olivia Margaret Tucker, Noah was supposed to be Noah Porter Tucker. But instead she was still a single mother and most guys her age did not want to be with a woman raising a young child.

Slowly she had gotten over it. She could look at a photo of them without bursting into tears, her nights weren't filled with overwhelming regret at what she had done. Slowly but surely, things had gone back to normal, and Ed Tucker became just another name in her long list of failed relationships, but she truth be told, leaving him had hurt more than all of them combined.

At the beginning of May, she received a package in the mail containing a crimson colored t-shirt with a large golden lion and the words 'Lannister's Spiffy Kitty Grooming' on the front of it with 'Noah' and the number 6 written in gold on the back along with crimson colored socks, and a crimson baseball hat with another gold lion on the front of the cap.

Along with the uniform she had received a schedule of games, locations and practice times as well as a list of things she could do as a 'T-Ball parent'. There would be eight games in total and one practice and a chance for the kids and parents to meet the coaches.

It took the Lieutenant a moment to realize what this all was. Olivia had completely forgotten all about the fact that she signed Noah up for T-Ball. As she looked at the uniform though, she couldn't help but think back to her blue-eyed ex who had been practically beaming when Noah showed interest in watching baseball.

 _He would have been an amazing father_ she thought to herself as she wiped the tears from her eyes. _He deserved Noah. Noah deserved him…_

Now though, as she stared at the giant wall of gloves in the sporting goods store utterly lost and astonished at the prices for even T-Ball equipment, she was cursing her ex for getting her son involved in this.

"You look like you could use some help," a voice next to her suddenly said.

Olivia turned and saw an older gentleman smiling at her. He was attractive for his age, she estimated in his late forties early fifties, with thick dark brown hair just kissed with a touch of gray and gray eyes. He was wearing a charcoal gray t-shirt that showcased his exceptionally well built body and a pair of dark jeans that she knew if he turned around would frame his ass just right…

The lieutenant graced him with a smile of her own. "Is it that obvious?"

The stranger laughed and shrugged. "Don't feel bad, you have the same bewildered look all new sports parents have. Lemme take a stab… Summer league T-Ball?"

"Hit the nail on the head. How'd you know?"

"My son is in the same league and I'm one of the coaches," he told her. "I know it starts up tomorrow. I actually own they store that's sponsoring the team he's on."

"Which team is that?"

"The Stark Sporting Goods and Army Surplus Wolves."

"Isn't that the store we're in now?"

"Yup. We also provide all the equipment. The bases, the T-Ball stands, the balls…"

Olivia clicked her tongue. "See you shouldn't have told me that because now I may have to go shopping somewhere else for Noah's gear. Don't wanna be seen helping the enemy. I'm a Lannister Spiffy Kitty Grooming Lion."

Another smile that Olivia couldn't help but notice made his blue eyes even more brilliant then they already were. "I won't tell if you won't."

She grinned at him. "It's a deal… So, any chance you can help me pick out what my son needs?"

"Of course. Now, he's just starting off so you're okay to get away with a little cheaper, but you shouldn't go too cheap when it comes to his gear..."

For the next half hour, the man had helped Olivia pick out a glove, a pair of baseball cleats, and a good helmet along with a child's metal bat and his own T-Ball stand and ball for him to practice at home with.

"I believe you have everything you need," he said as he rang her up at the register. "Although, I do feel like I'm helping my sworn enemies by assisting you like this. Maybe you could make it up to me? Help dissuade my guilt a little bit?"

Olivia just smirked as she got out her wallet and handed the man his payment. "How exactly would I do that?"

"Well you could let me take you out for dinner."

Her face fell as her mind drifted to another blue-eyed man, whose ring was sitting in the top of her closet untouched since she showed it to him in the hotel room where he was staying. It was supposed to go on her finger, it was supposed to represent to the world that she belonged to someone, that she loved someone enough to agree to spend the rest of her life with him and someone loved her enough to ask.

Instead it was just a cold bitter reminder of what could have been.

She swallowed hard as the man's smile dropped somewhat as he waited for an answer.

Olivia cleared her throat as she looked down at the polished counter. "That's… That's a really sweet offer but I just…" She finally looked up at him, the pain in her eyes genuine. "I'm not really looking for a relationship right now."

The man's smile was now gone completely. "Oh."

"It's not your fault, I just… About a year ago I got out of a very serious relationship. The guy was going to propose on the trip we were on when we broke up. The wound isn't exactly fresh but it still hurts a little bit, ya know?"

"No no, of course. I understand completely. When me and my wife divorced, it was almost five months before I even had the courage to even go out for friendly drinks with a female colleague."

The Lieutenant gave him a sad smile. "I really am sorry. You seem like a nice guy."

"So I've been told," he said with what could have been a smirk. He grabbed her receipt and a pen form under the counter and scrolled something on the back of it before he handed it to her. "But when the wound has scarred up a bit more, there's my number."

Olivia hesitated for a moment before she grabbed the receipt and put it inside her purse, taking it more to be polite than anything else.

"You know I never did get your name… Even if we don't go out, we're still gonna be T-Ball parents together." He stuck out his hand. "Jason Stark."

Keeping it as cordial as she could she reached out and shook his hand. "Olivia Benson."

"Well Olivia," he said as he handed the lieutenant her bags, "hope I'll see you around the diamond."

"Hope I'll see you too," she replied with a grin that one could have classified as flirty.

The two of them smiled at one another before Olivia grabbed her bags and took her leave.

The next night she got an excited Noah ready to go to his first and only practice. He hadn't have been able to stop talking about playing since the second he saw the uniform in the delivered box. Olivia couldn't help but feel a surge of pride as she took photo after photo both on her phone and her camera so she could print it out later of her son dressed in his new uniform wearing his new equipment.

 _Maybe this won't be such a bad idea after all_ she thought as she and Noah took the short bus ride to a small park called Casterly Park here his team would be hosting their home games.

When they arrived, Olivia counted eleven different children ages ranging from 4-5 all wearing the same crimson red shirt running around, a few of the kids attempting to play catch with one another, another few were just standing around awkwardly, and a small blonde haired boy was crying and failing to be comforted by his mother who by the sounds of it didn't want to play baseball at all.

As she looked at the other parents dressed in jeans and t-shirts or tank tops and shorts, she realized that her work slacks and button down blouse may have been slightly overdressed.

"Olivia Benson?"

The woman who had spoken up was tall, an inch or two taller than Olivia, with dirty blonde hair pulled up into a messy bun hidden under the full-sized version of the baseball cap the kids were wearing along with frayed jeans, worn out sneakers and an adult sized version of the crimson T-Shirt the team was wearing with the word 'Coach' written on the back of it.

She had an attractive face with hazel eyes and was around Olivia's age but the officer could tell even under the baggy shirt and loose fitting jeans she had a nice-looking body.

"Have we met?" the lieutenant asked as the coach walked up to her.

"Nah, you're just the last newcomer." She offered Olivia a friendly smile and stuck out her hand. "I'm Ash Conner, one of the coaches."

Olivia took the outstretched hand and was surprised when she felt the woman give her a sturdy shake. "Olivia Benson, I'm Noah's mom. Come say hi, Noah, this is your coach."

Noah, who had been hiding behind Olivia's pantleg this whole time, poked his head out to look at the woman muttered a quick hello and went back to hiding.

Ash chuckled and smiled to let him know she wasn't offended at the shyness the four-year-old boy gave her. "Those are some really cool cleats, Noah," she told him as she kneeled to his level. "I bet they make you run really really fast." A shy smile broke out on Noah's face as he nodded. "I also bet that gloves means you can catch a lot of balls and throw them REALLY far huh?" Another nod, this time bolder.

The coach looked around and saw another new child, a young girl with curly brown hair looking down at her feet, not quite sure who to talk to or what to do. "Here," she told Noah handing him a soft spongey ball from her bag. "Why don't you go ask Lisa if she wants to play catch. Her glove makes her able to throw the ball really far too. Be sure to tell her that okay?"

Noah grinned before he took the ball and ran over to the new girl who, after a moment of talking together, the two young children ran off to find their own patch of dirt where they could play, beaming smiles on both their faces.

"Wow. I don't think I've seen him that excited to play with someone else in a long while. Good job," Olivia praised the coach.

"I'm a child psychiatrist, I know how to get kids to do what I want," Ash said with a short laugh. "Don't know a thing about baseball though."

"Well it's a good thing you're out here coaching T-Ball then," said Olivia with a smile to let the woman know she was joking.

"I know right? But no, my brother and I coached this team the last five years because my father owns the place that's sponsoring this team and my nephew was on the team the first two years so… But my brother was the baseball guy, unfortunately he won't be with us this season."

"Yeah, I read in the little newsletter that he broke his hand, I'm so sorry."

"Nah he'll be fine, Doctor said the cast should be off August. Thankfully my boyfriend turned out to be a baseball guru and practically jumped at the chance to help me coach this year." Ash glanced around the park and a large smile overtook her face as she saw another adult wearing the same crimson coaching outfit walk onto the field with his own sports bag full of equipment. "Here he is now."

Olivia's heart ran cold as she watched the person who was on his phone and not paying attention to the people in front of him, otherwise he would have seen the woman who had cried hundreds of tears for him, who had a pain in her chest that refused to go away, whose every breath had hurt her since the day she left the campsite.

"Ah, finally!" Ash greeted the man who finally looked up from his phone and stopped dead in his tracks as he stared at the brunette woman slack jaw and wide eyed. The blonde, oblivious to the stunned faces on either people, grinned widely as she walked over to the man and clutched the shocked man's arm in a way that made Olivia's heart ache.

Because she used to clutch that exact same arm in that exact same manner.

"Olivia, I'd like you to meet the other coach." Ash gave the stunned blue-eyed man a quick peck on the cheek, "and my boyfriend Ed Tucker."

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	2. Chapter 2

**I own no one but my own people**

As Olivia stood there, staring at the man she hadn't seen in almost a year, every second felt like a lifetime. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe or move or speak… She was entirely frozen. Any pain in her heart that she thought was gone turned out to be just lying dormant waiting to spring to the surface and rip her in half once more.

As she stood there, brown eyes unable to turn from the damned blue of his, the color that was both her favorite and her most despised, the memories of the two of them raced through her mind from the steamy encounters in bed together, to him holding her as tight as he could while she sobbed because she had dreamt she was back in the beach house with Lewis, to them laughing at something Noah had done and a thousand more.

Tucker stood there just as stunned as Olivia, his jaws opening and closing as he struggled to come up with something, anything to say to the woman who broke his heart, who had told him that he was tied for first place in her heart with the man who abandoned her for five years, who made her choice to be with Elliot over him.

"Wha-… What are you doing here?" Olivia finally managed to ask, hating the way her voice couldn't rise above a stunned whisper.

Both had forgotten about the woman standing beside Tucker still clutching his arm. Ash looked between the two of them, the smile she had when she introduced Olivia to Tucker falling. "Do you two know each other?" asked the blonde.

Tucker swallowed hard before he stammered out his nervous answer. "We uh… me an- me and Liv, we used to… uh, we-."

"We dated," Olivia filled in the blanks that were proving difficult for Tucker to get out. "About a year ago."

Tucker didn't say anything and instead just looked down at a shocked Ash.

"Oh… okay… Ed, baby, why didn't you tell me?" asked Ash as she turned to look up at Tucker.

The former IAB agent looked at Olivia for a moment longer before he turned to look down at the blonde. "I didn't know she'd be here, Ash, I swear. Otherwise I never would have taken the job."

The three adults stood awkwardly for a moment before the SVU Lieutenant let out a shaky breath and turned to the female coach. "It's fine… it's fine, everything's fine, we can just… I'm sure there's a different league we can join."

"Not in your area," Ash told her.

"…Oh. Well then, I can just switch teams, right? We'd only have to see each other twice and then…. We can go back to ignoring each other," she finished as she glanced over at him, a sadness in her eyes as she realized what their relationship had been reduced to.

Tuckers face fell as the instinct to wipe away that pained look that seem to be permanently molded on his exs face came roaring back to life.

Ash shook her head. "The league is very strict on these kinds of things. Too many parents were transferring to what they thought was the best team, your address is in this teams zone, they won't let you switch."

"Then I guess I pull Noah out and we sign up next year."

"Liv, don't," Tucker pleaded before his girlfriend could say anything. "Don't pull Noah out because it might be awkward for us, he wanted to play baseball so bad…"

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do, Tucker?"

He bit his lip as she threw his last name at him. It had taken them a long time to get to the point where she used his first name instead of his last, one of the final cemented steps that led from friendly colleagues to friends. He had used hers a short while after he invited her to share a drink when they talked about Amaro's father but she was still using his last name up until about two months before she was taken hostage by Joe Utley.

They were out to dinner, no-where fancy just a small little family owned restaurant that Tucker swore up and down made the most authentic Korean cuisine in the city."

"Oh wow, Ed, you weren't wrong this is amazing," she had said after her first bite.

Tucker had stopped with his fork midway to his mouth when he looked at her, a half smile on his lips. "Do you realize that you just called me by my first name?"

Olivia had just taken a sip of her wine when she lowered the glass, mild confusion. "I did? When?"

"Just now. You called me 'Ed'."

A slow smile appeared on her lips. "Oh… huh. Sorry, it just slipped out, I wasn't even thinking about it. Do you want me to go back to using 'Tucker'?"

"No no no, I uh… I'm okay with 'Ed'. I like when you use it actually," he admitted as he glanced down at the floor, his shyness that was so prominent when he was with his girlfriend's easily popping up.

Her smile grew and Tucker swore she saw something more than just friendliness in her eyes right then. "Okay. Ed it is…"

They used each others professional ranks and last names when they were around others colleagues and when Olivia had gotten angry enough to shove him when he was accosting his cousin but from that day forward he was Ed to her, and he couldn't have loved it more.

Now though, after a year of not even a single text or call or even laying eyes on one another, it appeared he was back to being Tucker again.

"Liv, I-."

"ED!"

All three adults turned towards the source of the voice and saw Noah running as fast as his little legs could carry him over to Tucker, hugging him as tight as he could around the legs. "You're back, you're back, you're back!" the four-year-old shouted joyfully and hugging him tighter, not realizing or caring he had made an already awkward situation even more awkward.

Ed swallowed hard as he looked at his less than amused girlfriend before he reached down and ruffled Noah's hair. "Hey, little guy," he said, trying his best to keep his voice friendly. "How you been?"

"Good! I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Noah. Hey, why don't you go play for a little bit while I talk with your mommy okay?"

Noah beamed up at him with a toothy smile. "Okay! Love you!"

Tucker opened his mouth to tell the boy he loved him too, something that had become second nature to him at the time when they broke up, but instead he just gave an uncomfortable pat on the head and sent him on his way.

"Thought he forgot about you," Olivia muttered. "After about a month or so he stopped asking where you were but… guess not."

This time it was Ash's turn to look upset. "Wait did… did her son says he loves you? Ed, just how long were you two dating?"

He looked down at the ground again, wishing his hardness that had been evident to anyone he interrogated could shine through when he talked to the women he loved. "About, about eight months."

The blonde pursed her lips for a moment, looking between Olivia and Tucker before she forced a half smile to her lips and excused herself, walking over to the group of parents.

"You didn't have to tell her," Olivia told him. "You could have told her a short time

"I'm not gonna lie to her," Tucker replied. "She deserves to know the truth."

The lieutenant sighed as she looked back at the woman. "How long have you two…"

"Six months."

"Ah." Olivia looked back at her for a moment. "She's pretty… I guess for some reason blue eyed men seem to like blondes." Tucker said nothing, knowing that whatever he said would more than likely be the wrong thing. "How'd you two meet?"

"I saved a little boy in a hostage situation," he explained. "She was his therapist."

She couldn't help but scoff. "Wow… Hostage situations finds you a lot of girl friends, don't they?"

He gave her a slight glare. "Guess so…"

The two held their angered looks for a moment longer before Tucker sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Look, it's two months. I don't want Noah to have to drop out of the league because of this."

"Are you gonna drop out as coach?"

"I can't. Ash doesn't have anyone else. If I don't do it then the team doesn't get to play. I think we can act civil towards each other for the sake of the kids."

Olivia sighed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Fine. But I swear to God, Tucker, if she treats Noah bad or doesn't let him play because of this-."

"She won't," Tucker assured her. "She wouldn't do that to a child any more than you would. Even if she did, do you think I'd let Noah be hurt like that?"

"You let him be hurt before."

The words were out before she could stop herself and she wanted to cringe at the heartbroken look on her exs face.

Tucker swallowed hard before he spoke. "That wasn't my fault. We broke up, was I supposed to show up Saturdays for visitation?"

"A phone call could have worked just as well," she told him as her anger rose. "Also, you left. You left him and you left me, tell me how that wasn't your fault."

"Why did I leave, Liv?" he demanded. "Huh? Or did you forget what you did?"

"What _I_ did?!"

"Yes, what YOU did!"

Realizing they had started to gather the attention of both the adults and the children Tucker stopped to take a deep breath. "Let's just… Let's just get through this practice alright?"

"Fine with me," Olivia spat before she turned on her heel and stormed off towards the bleachers with the other parents

Tucker took a deep breath before he grabbed the bag of equipment and followed her over to the bleachers.

The rest of the practice went without incident. Ash explained why signing up children for sport was good for their confidence and self-esteem and encouraged the parents to bring snacks and to practice with their children at home while Tucker explained the schedule and how the games worked; 4 innings for each team, every child would get to play every position and bat at least twice a game, the team was out when the other team got three outs or the team had all batted once per inning, whichever came first, and, he stressed this harder than any other rules, they did not keep score.

One of the parents sitting beside Olivia scoffed and rolled her eyes at that announcement but Tucker ignored her.

Then afterwards the children lined up to practice. He always pitched the ball first to see if the child could hit it on their own and gave them three tries before he gave them the T-Ball stand and patiently correcting what needed to be corrected on each child.

When the child finally managed to hit it he worked with the kids in the field, teaching them the basics of throwing, catching, and where to throw the ball if it came to them, just as calm as you'd like.

Ash's job was mainly to motivate the children. She would cheer them on, instruct them where to run, tell them where to throw... When it was Noah's turn up to bat, Olivia watched Ash carefully, the mama lioness in her ready to pounce if she saw the blonde not treat Noah like she had treated the other children.

But, she was pleasantly surprised, Ash encouraged Noah when he was up to bat, she cheered when he managed to hit the ball and clapped as he ran to first base, which Olivia noticed with a proud grin, he was also one of the fastest kids on the team. He couldn't catch or throw to save his life but he was on par with the other children in that regard.

When Ash ran over to first base and gave him a high five, same as she did with the other children, Tucker turned to Olivia in the bleachers and she rolled her eyes when he saw his smirk that seemed to scream 'I told you so'.

Practice only lasted forty-five minutes but by the end of it all the kids were dirty, sweaty, and Olivia noticed Noah was far happier than he had ever looked after he was done with fencing or getting off a horse.

"I hit the ball, mama!" he told her with a huge grin as he ran to her after they were dismissed.

"I saw that, my love!" She beamed at him. "What do you say we go get some ice cream to celebrate?"

"Yes please!"

"Olivia, hang on a second?"

The lieutenant turned and saw Ash walk over to her, just as dirty as the players she had coached. Suddenly Olivia wish she had dressed a bit more causal instead of her work clothes.

"First off, Noah did amazing," she began, grinning down at the young boy who filled with pride at her words. "Second, I um… I just wanted to let you know that I hope that you won't be uncomfortable around me or feel awkward or anything. This should be as much fun for you as it for your son."

 _God why does she have to be so damned nice?_ she thought to herself as she slid her purse up over her shoulder. "I'm sure we'll be fine. We're all adults he and the most important thing is the kids. Besides I have a boyfriend," she added, hoping that she wasn't able to catch her lie.

A look of relief flooded Ash's face. "Oh! Okay well that makes things easier. Will we be seeing him at the games?"

"Maybe," she lied. "He's very busy, he's a business owner…"

"I understand. Well, I have to go pick up, just a reminder the first game is this Saturday and I can't wait to see you again."

"Same," Olivia finished with a smile before Ash walked away. Olivia took a deep breath and looked down at Noah who was looking up at her with a confused look on his face.

"You don't have a boyfriend, mama."

Olivia reached down and picked him up and began carrying him to the bus stop. "You're right."

"You told a lie. Mrs. Septa said you shouldn't lie."

"She's right, but sometimes grownups have to fudge the truth a little. But you never ever lie to Mommy okay?"

Olivia looked back and her face fell when she saw Tucker with a joyful Ash's arms draped around his neck. She was telling him something and Olivia saw Tucker frown for a split moment before a fake smile crossed his lips. Olivia saw right through it but Ash apparently didn't because her grin grew bigger and she leaned in to kiss him.

The Lieutenant turned away, fighting back the urge to scream and continued walking as she carried her son away from the park.

When they got home after ice cream they did their usual nightly routine; an hour of TV, dinner, bath, story, another story, and finally bed. Olivia promised she would help him practice the next day and when he finally shut his eyes to go to sleep she immediately beelined for her junk drawer and pulled out the receipt that she had saved in case any of Noah's baseball equipment didn't fit.

She stared at the number that had been written on it for a long minute. The longer she stared the more depressed she became. It wasn't fair that Tucker had moved on and meanwhile she hadn't even had a date since the breakup. He was happy, she was miserable. He had someone to comfort him at night, she had no one. He had found someone to replace her, she thought of him as irreplaceable…

The sadness soon turned to anger. This was his fault after all, he was the one that broke up with her the week he was planning to propose, he was the one who decided that whatever feelings she had for Elliot was stronger than the feelings she had for him (they weren't) and he was the one that hadn't even said goodbye to Noah when he left…

This was all his fault, and she wasn't about to be miserable while the two of them were probably lying in bed having sex right now. She could be happy too, dammit.

Knowing if she hesitated any longer she wouldn't be able to go through with it she took a deep breath and dialed the number on the receipt.

"Hello, Jason? It's Olivia Benson, we met at your store the other night… No no, they all worked great but I had a question. If you're not busy next Saturday, would you wanna get a drink with me? Yeah you, you could say it's healed a little bit." A beat and a smile. "Nine a clock sounds perfect. I can't wait to see you… Alright, you too… Bye."

Olivia hung up her phone and smirked at nothing in particular.

If Tucker could move on then so could she, and she would be sure to rub it in his face just to let him know he hadn't ruined her. She would be happy again and finally free of him and move on from that period in her life and forget all about the Hostage Negotiation Captain.

Or at least that's what she tried to tell herself…

 **Please Review**


	3. Chapter 3

I own only my own people

The rest of the week passed without further incident. Noah went to a summer daycare, Olivia went to work, and T-Ball was the last thing on her mind.

Unfortunately, though, her date with Jason was at the forefront of it. Her last real date had been with Tucker two nights before the camping trip fiasco when he had taken her to some swanky restaurant he had made reservations for. But after waiting forty-five minutes for a table, they just decided to go to a taco truck a block from her apartment and after they ate what Olivia called the best taco she had ever eaten, they made their way into her bedroom and made love until the sun came up the next morning.

It was one of the best dates she had ever been on.

She kept waiting for the pain to go away before she tried dating again, sure that it would pass sooner or later but it was always in the back of her mind and even now, a year later, her heart ached when she thought of him.

It wasn't fair. He had moved on with Ash while Olivia couldn't even buy anything remotely blue anymore because it reminded her of the shade of his eyes. She had to move on, she had to force herself to get over him. It wasn't right that he was happy while she was miserable, she had been through that twice now with Elliot and it wasn't about to happen again. If it took a few cheap dates with this Jason guy then it would be worth it.

Saturday came too fast for the lieutenant. Not only was her first date in a year tonight but she had to see Tucker again. She wasn't sure she could handle that…

But she nevertheless dressed Noah in his gold and crimson uniform and she herself threw on jeans and a dark red shirt to show team spirit, frowning as she looked at herself in the mirror. She hated wearing jeans and she REALLY hated wearing the cheaper t-shirts because an XL was too baggy while an L stretched too tight over her chest, but unless she wanted to show up in work slacks and a blouse again, this was what she had to work with.

"You owe me, Noah," she muttered as she pulled the t-shirt down, deciding to go with the L and hope that it wasn't too obscene.

When they got to the park Olivia's eyes landed on Ash and she pouted as she witnessed her rival looking flawlessly effortless and beautiful in her jeans and t-shirt, meanwhile it was obvious Olivia was out of her element in the more casual clothes. The blonde was talking to Tucker and laughing at one of his jokes and stroked his arm while they talked.

Olivia rolled her eyes as she walked over to her team and Noah hurried over to the young girl he had played with last week with a beaming smile on his face with his mother making his way over to the family members in the bleachers, this time doubled in size thanks to the other team's family watching their team as well.

'Mr. Mormont's Ice Cream Parlor' team had all boys on their team apart from one little girl. Their uniforms were the same as Noah's teams but instead of crimson they wore black uniforms with a grey crow instead of a gold lion.

Olivia had just gotten out her phone to check for a text when she heard a familiar voice, "who decides all black uniforms in the summer?"

She looked up and saw Tucker standing in front of her. She forced herself not to notice his jeans that hugged his ass just right or the way his arms practically bulged out of the sleeves of his t-shirt. Had he always been this in shape?

The lieutenant cleared her throat and shrugged. "They're crows, the color makes sense."

"True. Besides at the end of the year they always throw a big ice cream party for all the teams so… can't fault them too bad."

An awkwardness took over the two as Tucker stood in front of her for a moment before he spoke. "So, uh… Ash tells me you have a boyfriend?"

She looked down at her phone as she answered, knowing he could tell when she was lying. "Yup."

Without even looking at him she knew his face had turned into a hard stone and his poker face that made him so excellent at interrogations was on full display.

"Who is he?"

Olivia shrugged as she pretended to send a text to someone. "Just some guy I met, he helped me pick out Noah's T-Ball stuff."

"What's his name?"

Olivia finally looked up from the phone and sighed, realizing he wasn't about to let this go. "His name is Jason, and he is not only incredibly sweet but he's amazing with Noah."

Before he could examine her face, Olivia looked back at her phone. "Don't you have your new girlfriend to go coach with?"

Tucker pursed his lips for a moment. "Ya know what, I do. Enjoy the game."

Olivia waited until she heard him walk away before she looked back up again. Her face fell as she watched him go over to Ash and wrap his arms around her, giving her a quick peck on the lips before they caroled the kids into their separate groups and the game began.

The Lieutenant had never been as uninterested as she was right then watching this game. She clapped and cheered along with all the other parents and family members, cheering extra loud when it was Noah's turn to play, but other than that she began to wonder if it was possible to die of boredom.

Each kid got three times to try hitting the ball without the t-stand and all but one of the kids on the Mormont Crow team needed the stand and the Lannister Lions didn't fare much better in terms of batting, Noah included. But, she told herself as she cheered for her son as he ran to first base after hitting the ball off the stand, he wasn't the worst player on his team. That had to count for something…

All four coaches on both teams were more or less coaches for all the kids. They let them know what they could do to improve, they made sure to praise the kid when they did something right… Olivia noticed Tucker had spent five minutes helping the lone girl on the Crow team on her batting skills after she had nearly burst into tears when she needed two extra swings even after they put the ball on the stand.

The second time she stepped up to the plate she was the first and only one to hit the ball on the first try.

As Olivia watched her ex run up to the excited little girl with a beaming smile on his face and gave her a hug, she felt her heart rip into more pieces then she could count. She knew she was getting older, she knew having a biological child was out of the question, but she had always wanted a big family. She always wanted a loud house filled with children and an adoring husband to help her raise them.

When they were in Paris, Olivia asked Tucker one night after they got back to their hotel and were lying in bed together how he felt about her possibly adopting another baby, a little girl this time. She had even been checking out adoption agencies online, knowing there was no way another baby would fall into her lap like Noah had. This time she would have to take the long grueling road of an agency. He laid there in silence for a while before he told her the one thing she would never forget as long as she lived.

 _I want you to do what will make you happy._

So, she told him the truth about what would make her happy. She told him that raising children with him would make him happy, that adopting a beautiful little girl would make her happy, that him helping her raise her children would make her happy, that him legally adopting Noah and whatever other children she adopted would make her happy...

Tucker smiled at her, kissed her forehead and told her that her would be honored to raise a family with her and to take on the title as 'dad'.

That was before he left though. She didn't know if she could handle being a single mother to two children, one of them a newborn so she hadn't gone through with it but it still hurt when she saw her dreams come to life in front of her.

Olivia blinked her tears away, clearing her throat before she turned her attention back to the game which thankfully only lasted around half an hour overall. The kids lined up and shook the other team's hands and the coaches did the same before the crowds of parents watching went to collect their children and shower them with praise.

She did the same to Noah and as she picked up Noah to let him ride on her shoulders she turned and saw Tucker and Ash speaking to one of the parents but his arm was wrapped around her waist and holding her tight. The blondes eye caught Olivia looking at them and she gave a friendly smile and a quick wave before turning back to the conversation and Olivia felt her anger growing.

Ash had no right to be nice or friendly or decent. Why couldn't she be a raging bitch? Or rude, or unintelligent? Hell, why couldn't she be a Trump supporter so she could be all three? Olivia wanted to hate her, she wanted to hate her more than anything. At least Kathy had given her an excuse to dislike her. Ash however was the perfect little girlfriend, on the surface at least, and she couldn't stand it.

She didn't know why she wanted Ash to be unlikeable. Maybe it was because if she wasn't so perfect, she would have been able to hold onto the hope that he would leave Ash for her…

 _It's fine_ she told herself as she walked away, half listening to Noah's excitement over the game he had just played, _I'm sure Jason is going to be just as amazing as her and then Tucker can feel what I'm feeling right now..._

…

"Who you getting all dressed up for?" asked Lucy as Olivia emerged from her bedroom in a knee length black dress that highlighted her best assets and a pair of strappy heels.

"I have a date tonight…" said Olivia as she put her phone and incase she had a call, her badge in her purse. "The first one I've had in a while, actually."

"A very long while," her nanny said with a little bit of a smirk as she helped Noah finish putting away the train set he had played with before she got there.

The lieutenant just chuckled as she put in her earrings before there was a knock on the door. Olivia took a deep breath before she walked over and answered it, forcing a smile to cover her frayed nerves.

Jason Stark was one of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen. His hair was slicked back and his midnight black suit framed his body in the most attractive way possible while the gray in his eyes showed both kindness and playfulness.

"You look beautiful, Olivia," he told her the moment he set eyes on her.

"Thank you," she answered with a shy smile. "You wanna come in, I just need to grab my coat."

She closed the door behind him before turning to Lucy who obviously approved of her bosses' choice in men.

"Jason, this is my nanny Lucy and my son Noah. Lucy is my date for the evening Jason Stark."

"Very nice to meet you, Lucy," he said with a small nod of the heard in her direction. "You too, Noah."

The little boy said nothing but instead just clung to Lucy, understandably weary of the strange man in his home.

"He's a little shy around new people," Olivia explained. "It's not you I promise."

He assured her that it was fine before Olivia disappeared into her bedroom and came out three seconds later, her black trench coat now on her. "He should fall asleep pretty fast once you tuck him in," she explained to Lucy, "He didn't nap after he got home from the game and that tuckered him out."

"Got it."

For the first time since Olivia emerged from her bedroom Noah looked at her. "You look pretty, Mommy," he said.

Olivia walked over to the small boy and kissed him on top of his head. "Thank you so much." Another kiss. "Be good for Lucy, sweet boy. Love you."

"Love you too."

One last kiss and they were off.

"Ya know they say a kid that age will always tell the truth about someone's appearance," Jason said as he held the front door of the building open for her. "I gotta say, I think your kid hit the nail on the head."

Olivia chuckled as they walked to his car. "Thank you. He's probably just sucking up in the hopes I bring him home some dessert."

"Are you going to?"

"Of course I am, he called me pretty."

He laughed as they both got into the car. "Good to know. So what kinda dessert do I get for calling you beautiful?" he asked with a smug grin.

The Lieutenant raised her brow at the smirk. "You don't think that's moving a little fast?"

Jason just chuckled and kissed the top of her hand. "Sorry. I own a sporting goods stores so I don't really have a chance to talk to women. Most of my days are filled with middle aged bachelors who think they need professional level equipment for their city league and fathers who are trying to push their kids into the sports they never succeeded at when they were a kid."

"I know what you mean. Not a lot of women in my line of work either."

"What do you do for a living? Wait wait wait, lemme guess… Nice Manhattan apartment but not upper east side nice, the fact that you wore blazer and slacks when you were shopping for sports, you called the person watching your kid a baby sitter instead of a Nanny, this air of intelligence around you, single mother so not too concerned with traditional roles… I'm gonna go with a college professor. Something in the social sciences."

"Oh wow. You… could not be more wrong. I'm actually a cop."

Jason's eyes went wide. "What? No, you're lying."

"A lieutenant actually," she told him as she got her badge out of her purse and showed it to him. "Manhattan SVU?"

"SVU?"

"Special Victims Unit," she answered without hesitation. "We investigate rape, sexual assault… Crimes that are especially heinous."

Years and years ago Olivia would have beat around the bush, trying to get past a first date with a man. As she told Casey so long ago men would either lean in far too interested or they would be turned off by the idea of dating a woman who worked with these kinds of situations, so she used to simply answer that she was a detective and let them assume she worked in one of the more well-known areas like Homicide or Narcotics.

But as she grew older and matured, she stopped caring. She told them the kind of crimes she worked with straight off the bat, and no longer felt like trash if they were no longer into her when they heard. She was too old to worry about trying to please a guy who would leave her simply because of her job.

Jason pursed his lips for a moment as he nodded to himself and Olivia bit back a sigh. Although she was glad that he seemed more stunned and turned off than turned on.

"Well…" he said after a while, "If people who are dumb enough to fall for a Nigerian prince scam get their own unit, then I can't think of a group of victims more in need of their own unit than victims of… that type of crime."

Olivia couldn't help the small smile. "They do."

Another kiss on top of her hand and he continued driving towards their destination, an upscale Italian restaurant a few blocks from her apartment that she had always wanted to try.

As they drank red wine and dined on manicotti with risotto he told her his story; that he had inherited the one single store from his father when he died from an old war injury that affected his lungs and had since grown it into a chain of eleven different stores spread out from Manhattan to Brooklyn, and that he was considering designing their own brand of baseball gloves made from a softer leather so it was more flexible and thus easier to grab.

She in turn told him the bare basics of her life story from her growing up in Manhattan to going to college and then the force, she was a cop for twelve years before she went to SVU and had been there ever since. She choose to leave out the unpleasantries that would be saved for a date much further on down the line.

They also spoke about their love life. Jason was married to a woman for twelve years and they had all but given up having a child when they were blessed with a son late in life when she came up pregnant six years ago. But, he told her with a bitter smile, he picked up her cellphone by accident once and saw hundreds of messages between her the man she had been having an affair with for almost three years, including during the time she had gotten pregnant.

Jason told her he had demanded a DNA test and refused to even talk to the young boy until she agreed and, thankfully, he said, the son turned out to be his.

As he told Olivia the story she couldn't help but think of her last boyfriend.

Tucker had gone through a similar situation, only after knowing there was chance the daughter he had raised wasn't biologically his, he didn't care. He fought for visitation, even after taking the DNA test. It didn't matter if the baby didn't have his DNA, that child was his. Unfortunately, the judge didn't see it that way and granted his soon to be crack head ex full custody.

The former IAB agent still got tears in his eyes when he talked about that little girl…

But she forced him out of her mind, choosing not to linger on the fact that her date was willing to give up the son he had raised for two year.

Olivia told him about Noah, how lucky she got that he had discovered him in that drawer and how she thanked God every day for the Judge giving her custody. She once again glossed over the less nicer details regarding Johnny D.

They sent the rest of their night talking about whatever came to mind and overall it was a pleasant dinner. Olivia had an early morning meeting with Dodd's before she had to go to court at nine AM so she declined when he asked her if she wanted to go for a drink afterwards, and he drove her back to her apartment with a piece of chocolate cake for Noah in tow.

"I had a really nice night tonight," she told him as they stood in front of her buildings door.

"So did I," Jason said with a smile. "Sure you don't want a quick drink?"

"I can't," she said albeit regrettably. "I have a meeting tomorrow with my boss and he's... not the biggest fan of me."

Jason took a step closer to her. "Well he sounds like a jerk."

"Oh, he is," said Olivia as he took another step towards her. "Huge."

"Very huge…" he muttered before he leaned in, pressing his lips to hers.

His lips were soft, his breath tasted of mint, he didn't try to swallow her face but he took charge of the kiss, like all the other men she had ever kissed, Elliot Stabler included.

The first-time Tucker kissed her, he was shy and timid, barely able to press his lips against hers. There was a faint smell of tobacco, and he held his hands firmly at his side as if he was afraid to touch her. She had never been kissed by someone as timid as he had been.

But, as she found out, as hard and icy as Ed Tucker the IAB Captain was, Ed Tucker the boyfriend was as shy and adorable as a man could possibly be.

And she loved that about him.

Jason wasn't timid or shy or anything else that might be a synonym to those words, including his kisses. He was bold and brash and smug… He was Elliot and Brian and Porter and all the other men she had dated… But he wasn't Tucker.

But still, as he put his hands on her hips and pulled her closer, she couldn't help but feel something stirring in her that she hadn't felt since she and the IAB agent had broken up.

The two pulled away from each other and Olivia bit her lip as she looked up into his gray eyes. "I have to work early tomorrow," she said aloud, reminding herself for the reason why she wasn't inviting him up to her apartment.

Jason chuckled and nodded, taking a step back. "I understand…"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be… But maybe you could make it up to me? Thursday night sound good?"

"It does… I'll call you?"

"Sounds good."

The two stared at one another for a moment before he cleared his throat and opened her front door for her. They smiled one last smile before she turned and left.

…

Ash groaned as Tucker pushed into her, digging her nails into his back as she wrapped her long legs around him.

"Ed!" the blonde moaned as he buried his head into the crook of her neck and kissed and sucked the tender skin. "Mmm right there…"

Tucker panted as he thrust into her. All of her was smaller than Olivia. Her waist, her breasts, her ass… The first time he and Ash had sex, it had taken him a moment to get used to the smaller proportions and, if he was honest, he still wasn't entirely used to it after six months.

There were also no scars on her body. He didn't have to trace anything to reassure her that she was beautiful, that what had happened to her didn't define her…

She was also more timid, more shy, more held back than Olivia had been… The brunette had been willing to try and do most anything that the two managed to think of. Granted no one was being hung from the ceiling fan or anything too insane, but they had a good sex life.

Ash was just… there. They had two positions, him on top and taking her from behind on 'special occasions' but other than that, there wasn't a whole lot to brag about.

As Tucker moved inside her, he closed his eyes and struggled not to think of his brunette ex riding him. Her large breasts bouncing, moaning his name, his hands grabbing her amazing ass, her brown eyes dark with lust as she looked down into his eyes…

"Oh…" he groaned, moving his hand down between her legs to rub her clit as he started to move faster, "Oh… Oli-."

"Right there!" Ash screamed, jerking him out of that fantasy as quick as it had come. "Ed! Ed, right there! Right there! AH!"

Tucker shook the image of Olivia out of his head as he continued making love to her, careful not to slip up again…

Afterwards, and with no more fantasies of the brunette Lieutenant, Tucker laid in his bed with Ash resting her head on his solid chest, her arms wrapped around him, asleep to the rest of the world.

He kissed the top of her head before he slowly got out of bed, pulled on his briefs and headed into the bathroom, letting out a heavy sigh as he looked at himself in the mirror.

 _You gotta stop thinking about her_ he told himself. _It's not fair to you and it's not fair to Ash…_

Tucker looked at his reflection for a long moment, his mind whirling a thousand miles an hour. He wanted to move on, he wanted to forget about Olivia, he wanted love the sweet kind beautiful blonde woman sleeping in his bed right now.

He HAD to do all of that because sitting in the back of his sock drawer right now, nestled inside a red velvet case, was the ring he planned to ask Ash to marry him with…

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	4. Chapter 4

I own no one but my own people

" _It was a rather good day for President Clinton who imposed harsh sanctions against Russia for attempting to meddle in our presidential elections…"_

Olivia slowly sipped her drink as she watched the television above the bar as she waited for Jason to show up.

It had been a slow week at work, thank God, just paperwork and one or two of her Detectives were testifying. She and Jason hadn't seen one another since Saturday and it was now Thursday, the day they both agreed would be best to meet up again.

She was wearing a pair of black work slacks that made her already long legs look a mile longer and a black and purple shirt that made it appear like the purple was a corset and knew she looked phenomenal, as evidenced by the fact that not one but two separate men had asked if they could be permitted to order her a drink.

As she listened to CNN brag about what amazing things the president had accomplished, she rolled her eyes, not at the content, but at the fact that a TV was being played in a bar at all. She hated when bars would play TV that wasn't sports and even then unless it was a Sports bar she was annoyed at it. If she wanted loud noises overtop of her and her date trying to talk she would have gone to a nightclub like she had done in her youth and if she wanted to watch TV she would have stayed at home.

But now, at fifty-three, all she wanted to do was have a nice conversation without having to yell over the TV.

" _Donald Trump, the 2016 presidential nominee, meanwhile was found guilty of treason and espionage and is expected to be sentenced in the following weeks…"_

"He would have made a lousy president," a voice besides Olivia said suddenly.

Olivia turned and smiled at Jason as he took a seat beside her. He was in jeans and a black shirt that stretched tight across his muscles.

Olivia had a feeling he would rarely see him in a suit.

"Hey you," she told him with a smile.

"Hey yourself. It's been a while."

"It has. What are you drinking?"

"I will have a jack and coke," he said sliding across the money to the bartender. "You been here long?"

"Just ten minutes," she said as she took a sip of her wine.

"Good because I'd hate to keep a woman as beautiful as you waiting. Of course, I um… I can do quite a bit in ten minutes."

She rolled her eyes at the line but couldn't help the hint of smile that snuck through. "You're very easy to figure out, you know," she told him, almost as if she were challenging him to disagree.

"Oh yeah?" He leaned in closer, putting a hand on her knee that they both pretended to ignore. "How's that?"

"You use lines that no one should use on a second date just because you think you're incredibly good looking so you're allowed to get away with it."

He pursed his lips a moment. "And?"

"And what?"

"Am I good looking enough to get away with it?"

A sly smile grew on her lips as took another sip of wine. "We'll see…"

Jason bit his bottom lip, his eyes flashing up and down her beautiful self before he raised his glass. "Here's hoping we will."

The two of them clinked their glasses together and were about to take a drink when a more familiar voice than the one belonging to the man sitting beside found its way to her from across the bar asking the bartender for a glass of bourbon, neat as well as requested that the TV be thrown out.

Olivia dared to look across the crowded bar and found Tucker in a suit with Ash, in a red form fitting dress, his hand barely touching the small of her back and all at once, the cockiness and bold touching her date had done wasn't as sexy as it had been ten seconds ago.

She cleared her throat as she crossed her legs, pulling it away from Jason's touch at the same time. "You mind if we leave?" she asked, lowering her voice to make sure it didn't carry over to her ex.

"Oh… okay. You alright?" asked Jason, the bold smugness gone from his face replaced with mild concern.

"I'm fine, it's just my ex just walked in and…"

"Say no more," he interrupted as he stood up from his seat. Olivia downed the rest of her wine and stood up, grabbing her purse as she did. She glanced sideways at Jason, thankfully able to hide the disappointment as he put both hands in his pocket and flat against his body.

Call her old fashioned, call her sexist, call whatever you wanted, but she thought it was romantic when a man offered his arm to a woman.

 _Tucker always at least offered_ she thought to herself as they made their way through the crowd and she put her own hands in her pocket. Tucker could be a hard-cold son of a bitch at work, but outside, he was an old fashioned romantic same as Olivia.

He offered her his hand, he always made sure to walk on the side of the street, he always held the door open, he was chaste and almost afraid to touch her while they were in public… From the very first time he walked her to her car after they shared that first bourbon and they had merely gone from adversaries to frenemies. He didn't expect anything in return either, he did what was expected of him as an old school Irish Catholic.

They almost made their escape when Tucker turned and spotted the new couple. Just as Jason's hand reached the door handle he called out to them.

Olivia closed her eyes in defeat for a moment before they were forced to turn back towards them, faking a smile she knew the blue-eyed man could see right through.

"Hi, Tucker," she greeted as friendly as she allowed herself, keenly aware of the look that Ash was giving her, both women wishing more than anything that he IAB agent had let her go without a word. "Hello, Ash."

"Olivia," the blonde replied, a sharpness in her voice that she failed to disguise.

Ash noticed the man standing beside her and looked right at him for a moment before she quickly turned back towards Olivia. While anyone else would have missed the look she gave him, two veteran commanders in the NYPD caught it easily.

Both Tucker and Olivia looked at one another confused for a moment before they turned back to their respected dates, the hospitality laid out as thick as possible. "You two know each other?" asked Tucker looking between the blonde and the gray eyed man, expecting a boring answer like they knew one another from the league but instead both spoke at the same time, Ash going 'from the league' the same time Jason barked that she was his niece's therapist.

"That's confidential, Stark," Ash told him, not even trying to hide the contempt for his answer. "There's a reason the 'pretend we don't know one another' rule exists."

"You mean the rule that says no matter what the father did or didn't do, you help the mom get full custody?"

"Okay, on that note," Olivia spoke up quickly, "Jason, why don't we get going? Tucker, Ash; always a pleasure."

But both Jason and Ash ignored their respected dates and Olivia could see Ash purse her lips for a moment in anger before she spoke. "I'm not going to discuss a patient's case file in a bar," she told him as professional as her growing anger would allow. "You're welcome to ask Catelyn-."

"You shouldn't even be allowed a license!" Jason barked at her, earning several nearby onlooker's attention as well as the bartender who started to come over to the group.

"You need to calm down," said Tucker as he stepped in front of Ash. "I don't know if you're drunk or what but you need to get out of here."

The brunette came up next to her ex, also trying to defuse the situation. "Jason, please," Olivia begged just soft enough for the man to hear her. "Let's just go."

Jason ignored both officers and jabbed a finger at Ash over Tuckers shoulder. "You're gonna lose your license. You shouldn't even be allowed around children much less being able to console them!"

"Get out of here," Tucker demanded, his voice steady but cold, "and get out of here now otherwise you're under arrest."

"Come on," Olivia tried again as she grabbed Jason's arm to guide him away from the couple. "Let's just get out of here."

"Get off me," Jason snarled, jerking his arm out of Olivia's grasp and making her stumble before he turned and stormed out of the bar.

The brunette looked up just in time to see a deep rage settle in Tuckers blues eyes, the same rage she had seen the same day he went after his cousin. He stepped away with Ash, his hands balled into fists but Olivia put her hands out against his chest to hold him back.

"Don't," she begged. "Tucker, please. I'm okay, I'm alright…" She could see the rage disappearing slowly but she still didn't feel comfortable letting him go just yet. "He's gone, just leave it alone."

The blue-eyed captain glared at the man fuming outside the bar before he turned back to Olivia, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "You alright?" he asked her.

Olivia was about to answer she was fine when she spotted Ash, tears starting to pool in her green eyes and she bit her lip for a moment before she looked up at him. "You need to go ask her that," she muttered just loud enough for him to hear.

For a split-second Tucker seemed to forget who 'her' was but when he turned and saw Ash with her arms wrapped around herself his whole demeanor changed and he hurried back to her, wrapping his arms around her in a warm hug.

"It's okay," Olivia could hear Tucker telling her as she watched Ash wrap her arms around him and put a head on top of his shoulder. "You're alright…"

The brunette watched them for a moment before she turned and walked out of the bar, holding her hands up in defense as she approached a fuming Jason.

"You wanna tell me about what the hell just happened?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Jason shook her head. "She shouldn't have a license."

"Ash?" He confirmed with a nod. "Why?"

"Because she's a bitch," he grumbled.

"Don't call her that," Olivia told him in a no-nonsense manner.

"She is," he countered. "My brother got divorced from this shrew after twelve years of marriage," he explained. "It was a hard custody case and then, out of the damn blue, that cunt took my niece Catelyn to Ash and suddenly she's testifying before the judge that my brother beat my niece."

Olivia's eyes went wide with shock. She was unable to speak for several moments before she forced the words to pass her lips. "You… your brother beat-."

"My brother didn't do anything!" he barked at her, making Olivia take a step back. "They were both lying through their teeth!"

"Alright, alright…" Olivia said softly in hopes of alienating his rage. "I believe you."

The gray eyed man took a deep breath before he continued. "He isn't even allowed to visit without supervised visitation. It's bullshit, but God forbid the courts actually tell a woman 'no', we can't upset the feminists, can we?" he muttered to himself although Olivia heard him plainly enough.

When she didn't respond, he turned to her, his face falling when he saw her unamused look. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. It's just… The courts treated him so unfair, and I see her on Facebook all the time with new clothes, new jewelry, all bought by his child support."

Olivia held back the argument that whatever this woman bought could have easily been bought with her own money and how whoever has full custody is spending FAR more than 10% of every paycheck on the child but she decided now wasn't the time for that feminist argument.

Jason took her hand and brought it to his lips before presenting her with a sad little sexy pout. "I am sorry for losing my temper like that."

Olivia took a deep breath before she responded. "It's fine. Come on; let's go get something to eat."

He gave her a honey filled smile before he once again put his hands in his pockets and, with Olivia walking closer to the street, they headed off.

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	5. Chapter 5

**I own no one but my own people**

Olivia, who had not let him up into her apartment after that disastrous second date, and Jason talked and texted until it that Saturday afternoon when the Lannister Lion Cat Groomers had to face off against the Stark Wolves Sporting Goods Store.

Since it was an 'Away' game to be played at the Starks field, Jason offered to give Olivia and Noah a ride instead of lugging his equipment on the subway.

They hadn't mentioned Ash or his brother since he explained the situation outside the bar but it was always there in the back of her mind but she didn't want to bring up the issue again, knowing it would lead to a fight.

So the rest of the week had gone by with friendly texts and calls until at 12:30 promptly on the dot, Jason showed up in his coaching uniform, identical to the other coaches' shirts except his was a white T-shirt with a gray wolf on the front.

"You have the smartest color scheme out of all the teams," said Olivia with a chuckle as she adjusted Noah's crimson hat, thinking of the black t-shirts worn by the team they had played the week before.

Jason just shrugged before he grabbed the small gym bag with Noah's equipment. "I want my team to win."

"Lions gonna win!" Noah shouted out gleefully throwing his hands in the air.

"We'll see, little man," Jason said, winking at the young boy before they made their way out of the apartment. When they got down to the car Olivia got Noah buckled and settled in the backseat and, pursing her lips slightly, she opened the passenger door and got in the car where he was already waiting in the driver's side.

The car ride was a pleasant enough. Noah talked about how excited he was, Jason talked about the fact they were opening a new store in the Bronx… Olivia, meanwhile, wasn't in the moment like the two boys she was riding with.

Her mind had taken her back almost fifteen years in the past when Sergeant Ed Tucker had a head full of black hair and Olivia was sporting that ridiculous short cut she was forced to get after she lost a bet with Jeffries. She had to give an interview at IAB about some perp saying Elliot roughed him up and so she would be more 'open', Tucker preferred the interview to be on his home turf instead of hers so he came to pick her up.

Olivia had been as defiant as any young Detective would be in the hands of IAB, and she didn't hold back at all when it came to letting Tucker know what she thought of him. Yet, when he came to pick her up and walked her outside he held the door open for her.

"Didn't realize rats could be gentlemen…" she told him with an edge in her voice as she climbed into the car.

"You know, Detective, you have your entire life to be a bitch, why not take the day off?" he shot back as he closed the door behind her.

Even when they hated each other and hated for what they thought the other stood for, whenever he was forced to give her a ride anywhere he would get the door for her, even when he thought she had murdered Clyde VanDyne. He respected her that much at least.

Jason, on the other hand…

 _Not all men are gentlemen_ she reminded herself as he continued to drive. Not to mention, he barely knew her enough to know rather she appreciated those kinds of gestures.

 _He would_ she told herself as Jason pulled up closer to the park his team called home. Most of the kids were there already but she didn't see Ash or Tucker anywhere.

Jason got out of the car just as the Lannister coaches pulled up. Olivia watched in the rear view mirror as Tucker got out before hurrying over to the passenger side and opening the door for Ash. The brunette held her breath as her boyfriend get the equipment out from the backseat before coming over to the passenger side and knocking on the metal door.

"You alright?" he asked her when she still hadn't moved.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, sorry, just kinda spaced out for a moment," she lied.

"Ah. Well come on, otherwise the best bleachers will be taken."

He gave her a gentle smile and hurried over to his team, his hand not getting anywhere near the handle of her door.

"Mommy? You okay?" asked Noah, still strapped in, seeing the look of distress in his mother's eyes.

Olivia forced a smile through the beginning of her tears for his benefit and nodded. "Yeah, baby, Mommy's okay. Come on." She unbuckled herself and opened her door with a shaky breath. "Let's go play T-Ball."

As she got Noah out of the car, she looked around and saw Tucker looking in her direction. She quickly glanced away because she knew if she saw those damned blue eyes pitying her she would lose it. As they made their way over to their team Tucker approached her, his hands deep in his pockets.

"You alright?" he asked softly as if to keep their conversation between them and when Olivia saw the death glare Ash was looking at her with she understood why.

"I'm fine," she told him looking straight ahead holding onto Noah's hand. "You realize your girlfriend is plotting ways to murder you every time you talk to me right?"

Tucker quickly looked over at Ash before turning back to her. "I saw you in the van, you looked upset. I just had to make sure you were okay."

"I'm not upset," she answered still not looking at him. "I told you I'm fine."

Tucker sighed before he walked in front of her stopping her in her tracks.

"Do you want her to stab you?" Olivia said with any icy twinge in her words.

He ignored her warning. "I don't care if we broke up, I still consider you a friend and I wanna make sure you're okay."

"Funny because the only thing I consider you is the ex who left me broken hearted in the middle of the Goddamn woods," she fired back.

Tuckers face fell but he continued. "Look, Liv, I need to tell you something important, something about me and Ash."

"I don't care.

"Liv-."

"Christ, Tucker, will you just leave me alone?" she snapped, pushing past him, half for Ash's benefit half for her own and made her way to the bleachers.

She wasn't angry at him. Not as much as she had let on anyway. She was mad at the fact she hadn't had a man take her arm in over a year, she was mad at the fact that the guy she was dating didn't seem to have the slightest hint of chivalry, she was mad that Tucker landed such a picture-perfect blonde...

Most of all she was mad at the fact that she had everything she wanted and had let him go for a guy that was still married and who had paid her as much attention in the year following the dreaded camping trip as he had the five years prior.

The Lieutenant sat down on the bleachers, preparing herself for another half hour of boredom.

It was more or less the same as the previous game. Cheering for both teams, parents cheering louder for their own child, and average talent for 4 and 5-year old's.

Jason, however, treated his team far different than Tucker and Ash treated theirs. He was harsher and stricter with his kids if they messed up to the point where he almost made one of his players cry because the Lannister team managed to get the ball to the plate before them. When one of his kids didn't make it in the three tries, they were only allowed to try it on the T-Stand once as opposed to the Lannister's where they could take as many swings as it took for them to hit the ball, which even a casual glance towards Jason told whoever was looking at him that he hated that, glancing at his watch and sighing loudly whenever they took too long.

Whereas Tucker and Ash cheered on and encouraged both teams, even going so far as Tucker working with several of the Stark kids adjust their footing and clapping when they got a hit or made a decent throw. Jason though… he pointblank refused to even talk to any of the kids on the Lannister team.

When it was one of the kids on the Stark team's time to hit, one of the better players, he hit the ball on the third team and ran to first but halfway there he stopped, laid down on the ground and used his arms to 'slide' into first. All the spectators who supported both sides laugh and cheered for the four-year-old who stood up, a giant smile on his face. Tucker even ran over and gave the kid a high-five. But, Olivia noticed, Jason didn't even look impressed much less amused…

When the game was over and the team stood up to shake hands, Jason Ash and Tucker instead choose to acknowledge one another with a curt nod before the parents went and collected their kids, the brunette Lieutenant included.

"You see me throw the ball, Mama?!" Noah asked with a beaming grin on his dirt streaked face.

When Noah had thrown the ball, he threw it far enough so that the second basemen could pick it up and strike out one of the runners.

"I did, baby! You did so good!" she told him, hugging the small boy who beamed at the compliment.

"Next time I wanna do what that kid did and do the sliding thing!"

"I would highly recommend against that."

Olivia and Noah turned and saw Jason standing before them. "First off, he didn't know how to even slide properly. Second, you NEVER slide into first."

"Yeah but the kid was just having fun," Olivia argued. "It looked pretty great honestly."

"It may have looked 'great', but it was the wrong thing to do."

"…You're kinda intense about T-Ball, aren't you?" said Olivia, only half joking.

Jason shrugged carelessly. "I want my kids to play the game right and I want them to win. If I come off as a hard-ass because of it, so be it."

Instead of arguing, Olivia simply nodded and swiped the back of her hand across her brow, the heat rising steadily since they arrived in the park. "You wanna get going then?"

"I gotta talk to some of the parents, gather up my equipment… I'm gonna be a while if you wanna get going without me."

Noah looked up at his mother, grabbing ahold of her hand. "It's hot, Mama," he told her with a slight winge. "Can we get ice-cream?"

"Be patient, my love, Mamas talking right now," she said not unkind

Noah let out a loud groan and crossed his arms in front of his chest as he waited impatiently.

"I think someone wants to leave," Jason said with a short laugh. "Tell you what…" He reached in his pocket and tossed her the keys to his car. "You take my car, get him some ice cream…Plus this way it gives me an excuse to come to your apartment later."

Jason smirked as he said that last part and Olivia raised a brow, trying to maintain a stern look but her eyes betrayed her as they lit up rather playfully. "Oh really? And um… What do you plan on doing when you get to my apartment."

"You'll see," he said with a cocky swagger as he leaned forward and kissed her, placing his hands on her hips.

"Mama!" Noah whined again, pulling on her hand, forcing the two adults apart. "Ice cream!"

Olivia let out a short laugh mixed with a sigh. "Sorry about that," she said as she reached down and picked up the surely Noah. "He's usually more well behaved than this."

"It's fine. Go get some ice cream but make sure he drinks a cup of Gatorade before he takes a nap."

"Got it. I'll see ya later, babe."

Another quick kiss and she was gone.

The second she got home, after stopping to get a small cone for Noah, she immediately went to work on cleaning her apartment. After that she changed from her team t-shirt into a long-sleeved shirt that made her boobs looks phenomenal and, deciding that the jeans she was wearing made her ass look perfect she kept those on.

"Sweetie, Mama has a friend coming over," she told the small boy as she got out two wine glasses and a bottle of her favorite red. "When he does, can you do me a favor and play in your room while he's here?"

When she didn't get an answer, she turned towards the couch where he had been watching Thomas the Train and smiled at the sight in front of her. Noah was fully passed out on the couch, his thumb in his mouth while he clutched his favorite stuffed Thomas toy.

The Lieutenant was about to pick him up to put him in his bed when there was a knock on the door. She went to it and opened it expecting Jason but getting a far different surprise.

Ed Tucker was standing in her doorway for the first time in a year…

 **Please Review**


	6. Chapter 6

I own no one but my own people

As Tucker stood in front of her Olivia stood motionless, her eyes wide with shock.

"Can I come in?" he asked again, drawing her out of her silence.

The lieutenant cleared her throat before she spoke. "For what?"

"So we can talk. I told you at the field today I had to tell you something." He took note of her hair, her makeup, the low cut shirt coupled with the fact that she was still in tight fitting jeans this close to Noahs bedtime…

She had a date tonight.

"I have someone coming over soon," Olivia said confirming his suspicions. "Plus I gotta put Noah to bed."

"I'll be quick," Tucker promised. "Please, Liv, just ten minutes and I'll be out of your hair."

Olivia sighed before she moved out of the way so he could walk in. "Ten minutes," she reminded him as she shut the door behind him.

The blue eyed Captain watched as his ex went over and carefully picked up Noah, cradling the sleeping child close to her. He couldn't help but smile sweetly at the sight he had watched and helped with many a time.

"You need any help?" he asked quietly as he watched her try to carry him and grab his stuffed train as well.

Olivia answered in a sharp whisper that almost made him wince. "I can put my own son to bed by myself, thank you."

He watched her struggle to grab the toy for a moment before he wordlessly went over and grabbed not only the toy but the small blanket he had been covered up with as well. Olivia shot him an icy glare but nevertheless allowed him to carry the toy and blanket and follow her into Noahs room.

Olivia pretended not to notice Tucker staring at her and her son as she laid him down on the bed, grateful she had given him a bath and put him into pajamas right after dinner that way she didn't have to undress him and chance waking him up.

She knew once he saw Tucker there would be no getting him back to sleep…

Tucker laid the toy under the boys arm as if he was hugging it as Olivia covered him up, running a hand through his soft brown hair before she leaned down and kissed the top of his head.

"Night night, sweetie," she breathed softly. "Love you."

The four year old let out a small groan as he stuck his thumb in his mouth, a habit Noah was almost over apart from when he was either so tired he could barely function or when he was sleeping, but other than that didn't move a muscle.

The two adults left the room, shutting the door gently behind him before Olivia turned on him. "Down to nine minutes."

"Don't be like that, Liv," he begged her as she went over to the counter and poured herself a glass of wine. "I'm trying to be nice here…"

A humorless laugh passed through her lips. "Nice? Really? Funny, last time I checked nice guys don't leave their girlfriend and her son alone in the woods because their mad that they didn't get to teach a three year old how to fish."

"Yeah well last I checked, when a girl says they're 'tied for first' with a guy who treated her like dirt, you don't really wanna stick around that long," he shot back.

"Elliot did not treat me like trash!"

This time it was Tucker's turn to laugh without humor. "Oh okay! Where is he then? After you choose him, why isn't he here with you? Why isn't Elliot here helping to raise your son? You threw us away for him, where is he now?"

Her eyes narrowed into a sharp glare before she stormed over to the couch. "You said you wanted to talk about you and Ash." She sat down, crossing her arms. "So talk."

"You're the one who wanted to dredge up the damn past," Tucker said as he went over and sat on the chair furthest away from her. "I was content never to mention it again."

"You don't have to tell me you don't want to talk about the past. You think Elliot was bad? How is what you did any different? You never called me afterwards, you never even bothered asking how Noah was, who sobbed when I told him he was never gonna see you again by the way… Alright Elliot may have abandoned me, but you abandoned me AND my son. Plus I never… I never loved Elliot."

Tears had started to gather in her eyes that she quickly tried to wipe away before he could notice them. "But I did love you," she said once she knew her voice wouldn't crack. "And you leaving hurt so much more than anything Elliot ever did."

Tucker's face had fallen as he listened to Olivia's speech, letting the words turn over and over in his head. He never wanted to hurt her, he never wanted to abandon either her or her son but it hurt too much for him to even think about them.

Then he met Ash. Sure at first she was mainly a way for him to forget about the Sex Crimes Lieutenant but he had grown to love her.

At least that's what he told himself every night he was with the blonde he more than once pictured as the brunette sitting across from him.

Olivia wiped at her tears once again, hating herself for ruining the makeup she had just applied. "So either tell me what the hell you wanted to talk about or leave, because I have a date in," she glanced at her watch, "seven minutes."

Tucker pulled his bottom lip in, gently biting it as the words he had planned on saying to her seemed far too harsh now and failed him entirely…

After almost a minute of silence between the ex couple and, unable to think of anything to say that would soften the words he needed to say, he finally just grabbed the small velvet box from his jacket pocket and wordlessly set it on the table in front of him.

Olivia stared at it for a long moment before she reached forward and grabbed the small box, opening it and looking intently at the contents within.

It was a simple white band with a simple diamond on top of the band, far simpler than hers had been at least.

Olivia's had been a white band with a diamond nestled in between two smaller emeralds, the birthstone of the month that she adopted Noah, connected to another white gold band that was encased in small diamonds.

This ring, however, was the generic everyman's engagement ring. It didn't really say anything about the woman wearing it.

A thousand different responses ran through her mind coupled with a million different emotions she was feeling.

Finally; a single word managed to bypass her lips. "When?"

"Tuesday," he answered,unable to look at her . "I'm taking her to her favorite restaurant."

Olivia nodded, still not taking her eyes off the ring. "Sounds like you put a lot of thought into it…"

Tucker glanced at her for a moment but said nothing in response to the subtle sarcasm. "I um… I wanted to tell you first."

Finally she looked up from the ring and turned towards him. "Why? You're a grown man, she's a grown woman… you don't need my permission, Tucker."

She closed the ring box and slid it towards him before she stood up with him following as he grabbed the ring and shoved it back in his pocket.

"Liv, please…"

"What, Tucker? What do you want me to say?" She turned on him and his heart shattered as he saw not tears in her eyes but a coldness she never looked at him even when he was interrogating her. "You want me to congratulate you? Well congratulations, I'm sure you and your girlfriend will be very happy together, I can tell by how much thought you put into the ring and the plan how excited you are for this to happen. Is that want you want? Or did you want me to sob and fling myself at you, begging you not to do it and to please take me back? Well guess what, Tucker, I don't care what you do anymore and I REALLY don't care what you do with that boring twat who I'm sure you're going to be VERY happy with. So if you were looking to me to talk you out of this, you are shit outta luck."

"Liv, stop."

She strode past him and wrenched open the door.

"Don't bother to send an invitation I'm busy that day," she told him, the iciness in her tone almost making her flinch.

Tucker looked at her for a moment before he sighed and walked out of the apartment without another word. He was barely out the door when she slammed it behind him…

Olivia took a deep breath as she took a long swig of the wine she had poured earlier, downing that in seconds. She poured herself another and drank that in moments and was about to repeat it a third time when there was a knock on her door. She walked back over, glass in hand, and answered it, not even bothering to check who it was.

"Hey, Liv," Jason greeted her with a smile. He was in a tight gray t-shirt and a pair of jeans that were hanging off his hips exposing the top of his boxers.

God she hated when men did that. Was it really that hard to wear a damn belt?

...Tucker always wore a belt...

"Here to get my car back," he told her. "Mind if I come in?"

Olivia wordlessly moved out of the way and went over to the drawer and got out the keys, sliding them across the kitchen island.

"Here," she said rather dryly before she drank the rest of the wine in her glass. "Have a good night."

Jason appeared confused as she poured herself another glass of wine, this time emptying the bottle. "Oh… um… thanks, but I thought… ya know that we could hang out for a bit."

"You mean talk until I let you kiss me on the couch and feel me up," she told him as she took a rather large swig of wine.

Jason's eyes went wide at her bluntness. "...I not… I mean if the night came to that… Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she said, not even convincing herself. "I'm perfectly. Fucking. Fine."

"Oh I can tell."

Olivia shot a glare at him for a moment before she downed the rest of the wine and stormed up to him, kissing him hard.

Jason stood perfectly still as she grabbed his tshirt and pulled him against her. She tasted of the wine she appeared to have been guzzling and he wasn't really in the mood to be accused of anything just because she had too much to drink.

"Why don't we talk a bit first?" He muttered against her lips, trying and failing spectacularly to ignore the stirring in his groin as she pressed herself up against him.

"We've talked enough," she breathed before she moved her lips to the crook of his neck, kissing and sucking the sensitive spot there.

Jason groaned as his arms finally wrapped around her and placing his hands on her hips only to have Olivia grab one of his hands and all but slam it down on her chest.

"How much have you had to drink?" he asked but nevertheless letting her take his shirt off.

"Not enough," she told him pressing herself into his hand which hadn't moved since she placed it on her breast. "Trust me not enough…"

Jason bit his lip as she reached down between them and stroked the growing bulge in his jeans. She had just told him she was sober in a way…

So, praying she wasn't one of those women whose morning after regrets turned into a jail sentence be pushed her up against her kitchen wall, finally cooperating with her needs and kissing her behind the ear while he was rewarded with a loud groan.

He went to the bottom of her shirt to take it off but she grabbed his hands and shook her head.

"Leave it on," she told him, knowing that her body would be littered with scars she would inevitably have to explain and she was not in the mood to deal with that tonight…

Jason nodded as he took his hands away from her shirt and instead pulled down her jeans and panties down and Olivia grabbed his face and kissed him again as she kicked her jeans off herself so that he wouldn't look too closely at discover the knife cuts and burns on her thighs.

She helped him undo his jeans and pulled them and his boxers down.

The two kissed hungrily as he ground against her, making her whimper and moan as he rubbed between her legs to get her wet while she stroked him until he was hard enough to get the job done.

When they were both ready Jason grabbed her legs and wrapped them around his waist as he held her up against the wall and entered her hard and swift and started to pound into her.

He got her off while he fucked her and in their current position there wasn't a whole lot she could do so she just dug her nails into his back, thinking of one thing the whole time. Not of the man inside of her or the pleasure he was giving her, but of the blue eyed man who had broken her heart all over again as she repeated the same internal mantra over and over again.

 _If he can move on so can I, if he can move on so can I, if he can move on so can I..._


	7. Chapter 7

**I own no one but my own people**

"So… you wanna tell me what that was about?"

Olivia and Jason sat on her couch after their rendezvous in her kitchen, her with another glass of wine and him with a beer. Jason had redressed himself and Olivia changed into sleeper pants and a t-shirt.

They hadn't really talked much after that, not that she had really wanted too, but Jason hadn't wanted to leave just yet before figuring out why this woman he had been in two dates with had came at him so quick.

Olivia took a slow sip of her wine before she answered. "I… got some upsetting news tonight," she told him leaving out the more complicated details. "Right before you showed up and then I just… I don't know, I needed to forget about it for a second."

Jason nodded, pursing his lips for a moment. "The bad news have anything to do with why I passed Ash's boyfriend on the way up here looking like someone kicked his dog?"

Another sip of wine.

"It did."

"… You wanna maybe give me some more information on that?"

"Not really."

Jason nodded, taking a drink from the can he held in his hand. "You know you're kinda private for a person who just let me bang her up against her kitchen wall."

"…'Bang'? What are you, 12?" Olivia downed the rest of her wine, pretending not to notice the offended look on her dates face. After a moment she sighed, softening her tone to try to lessen the sting of her previous rudeness.

"I'm sorry. I'm just… I'm in a really bad mood, through no fault of your own I promise."

"It's fine," Jason td her, albeit rather stiffly.

"No it's not." She finally turned to look at him. "I swear I'm not this rude, nor do I usually have sex with guys the moment they walk in my house. It's just… it's complicated."

Before Jason could reply the door to Noah's room opened and Noah walked out, rubbing his half open eyes and letting his blanket drag behind him.

"Hi, my love," Olivia greeted him gently as she got off the couch and walked over to him and picked him up. "What are you doing awake?"

"Thirsty," the young boy told her, his voice muffled by the thumb in his mouth, still half asleep as he rested his head on her shoulder. "Chocolate milk?"

"It's kinda late for chocolate milk don't you think? How about some water now then chocolate milk for breakfast?"

After a moment of consideration Noah nodded, too tired to argue with his mother.

Olivia kissed the top of his head as they made their way over to the fridge as Jason watched the little boy in her arms closely.

"Is he the father?"

"Who? Tucker?"

Another shrug. "I saw the two of you arguing earlier today, then he comes over and puts you in a foul enough mood that you have hate sex with the guy you don't hate. Plus it's almost insulting you think I couldn't figure out who the ex that walked in the bar the other night was."

Olivia pursed her lips as she shook her head. "No. Tucker isn't the father. But… but he was going to be."

Busying herself with getting Noah a glass lof water she didn't look at him as she continued. "We dated for a few months."

"Was it serious?"

"Very serious. The same weekend he was going to propose to me we broke up."

Jason let out a low whistle as Olivia kissed Noah on top of the head and sent him back to bed.

"So what the hell happened?"

Olivia shrugged, taking another drink of her wine. "Things just didn't pan out."

Jason knew there was far more to the story than that but decided not to push it for now.

She downed the rest of her wine before she glanced at her watch.

"Jason, this was very nice but I gotta get going to bed soon," she told him. "I have an early morning."

"Oh… um, sure, but…"

"But what?"

Jason shrugged. "I dunno I thought maybe I could stay, we could drink a bit more…" He reached over and placed his hand on her thigh. "See where else the night takes us…"

She forced a smile as she took his hand and moved it off of her. "I think the night has taken us far enough for a third date."

"Mmm I bet it can take us a little bit further again…"

Before she could respond he leaned over and kissed her.

"I know it could," she muttered against his lips, putting her hands on his chest to lightly push him away in hopes that he'd get the hint. "But I don't want it too…"

He attacked the spot behind her ear with his mouth, sucking and licking the spot that usually drove her wild.

"Why you being so shy all of a sudden?" he breathed as he brushed the tip of his fingers against the top of her pajama pants, making her flinch and grab hold of his wrist rather tightly to stop him for going any further.

Jason sighed as he pulled away and, seeing that she was serious and not just fooling around he pulled his hands away from her. "Okay… alright, I'm sorry."

She said nothing in response as he stood up from the couch with her following. "I'll call you tomorrow," he said as she walked him to the door. "Maybe we can go out and get a drink or something."

"That sounds good," she told him, almost cringing at the forceness behind her words. She cleared her throat and tried again this time with a more genuine smile. "I'd really like that."

Jason pursed his lips for a moment, thinking that her discomfort was related to Tucker.

"Ya know… If you wanted him switched over to my team I could make it happen."

"No, I asked Ash she said they weren't allowed."

Jason scoffed as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest.

Olivia fidgeted as she pressed against his muscles. She had always liked the more traditional strong guys who it was obvious they worked out. She liked feeling protected. When Tucker held her in his arms she could feel his strength but she could also tell how gentle he was. He didn't want to use anymore of his strength then he needed to. He knew he could hurt someone if he wanted but he never wanted to do that.

But there was something about Jason that put her a bit on edge. He was stronger than probably any other man she had dated but at the same time it was like he was a bit too forceful with his strength.

"Ash might not be allowed but the league isn't gonna tell me no. They're not gonna tell the owner of the company that provides all their equipment he isn't allowed to do something. Think about it, you wouldn't have to see either one of them again except the one other time we play them."

Another forced smile. "We'll see."

Realizing the conversation was over for now Jason just said 'okay', kissed her once more and headed out.

 **I'm so sorry for the long wait and the shortness of this chapter and the abruptness but it just would NOT come like no matter what I did it was just *blah!* I think even my own brain doesn't like the idea of her with someone other than Tucker. Anyway please review.**


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